SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY

OVERVIEW
In this solution-oriented lesson,
students conduct a school lunch
survey to gather ideas and then
present recommendations for

EY improving their school district’s lunch

V
SUR offerings.
CH
LUN rd
r wa
d fo
oke
at y o u lo
ol’s
m e al G R A D E L E V E L : 6–8
d th cho
fo o ur s
ed ve o
serv p ro
t e ria s im
e
caf help
u
ool nd ply.
sch ey a t ap
the urv tha
t if is s k all
g re a t h a r
it b
e out ys?
M
n’t fill l da
uld ase hoo
Wo Ple n sc
g? ho
e atin n c
to m. et lu
gra lly g
p ro ma
nor
ou ria.
d oy e te __
e caf ___
her ool ___
1 W sch ___
t he _ _ ___
m h . __ _
F ro lunc ___
a my . ___
ing pus ___
I br am ___
b o ff c __ ___
it h. __ _
buy lunc ___
c I eat e: _ n e.
not crib ko
I do des Mar
d ase d?
r ?P
le
ia fo o
e r
Oth e te
e caf
the
eat nth
you mo
do
o f te
n e a
s
tim ont
h
How r m o re a m
2 es
ix o
b o ut s f iv e tim o rd
s
A o to ew __
a h re ___
u t tw o nth li st t _ ___
Ab o m ea r, __ _ ___
b ce a is y ___ ___
___
o u t on im e th _ _ ___ __ _ ___
Ab o n et _ ____ _ _ _ __
__ ___
c a st __ __ __
er ___ ___ ___
Nev ia at le _ _ ___ _ ____ __ ___
r _ ___ ___
d e te od:
caf e fo ___ ___
he ___ ___
in t e th ___ n e.
eat
en crib ___ ko
’v e o des ___ Mar
ou t d? it
If y use fo o e at
3 w ould e t e ria I d on’t
you e caf 0-
f th le
eo rrib
t a st 1-Te C Y.O
RG
the ERA
rate ay CO
L IT
you O k W.E
o u ld 2- WW
w
how ood
ral, yg
ene rett ERA
CY
In g 3-P E CO
L IT
4 s OR
li c iou NTE
RF

4-D
e C E 19

VEY
SUR
CH
UN
LL
OO
SCH

CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY

Copyright © 2013 Center for Ecoliteracy
Published by Learning in the Real World

SMART BY NATURE™ downloadable resource

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

No part of this report may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
permission in writing from the publisher.

Center for Ecoliteracy

David Brower Center
2150 Allston Way, Suite 270
Berkeley, CA 94704-1377

For more information about this activity, email info@ecoliteracy.org or visit

www.ecoliteracy.org.

Learning in the Real World is a publishing imprint of the Center for Ecoliteracy,
a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization. Created in 1997, Learning in the Real
World offers resources to support schooling for sustainability, stories of school
communities, and the ecological framework that informs the work of the Center.

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

2
SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY

PURPOSE

Students conduct a survey about their school’s cafeteria food and identify ways
to improve the lunch offerings. They begin by interviewing the food services
director to learn about the factors involved in planning school menus, and then
develop a survey for their peers. After analyzing the results, they present their
findings and recommendations. Through this process, students learn effective
ways to bring about change in their school community and help increase
healthful eating and reduce waste.

GRADE LEVEL

6-8

E S T I M AT E D T I M E

Two or three 50-minute periods, plus time to distribute the survey

B AC KG R O U N D

It seems that everyone has an opinion about cafeteria food, and improvements
are beginning to take hold in various places across the nation. One of the first
steps to upgrading school meals is to identify what is currently in place. This kind
of exploration doesn’t stop with the food that is being served, but also considers
where the food comes from, how it is prepared, the atmosphere in the dining
hall, the waste that is generated, and the ways that food can serve as a focus for
teaching and learning around many subject areas.

Most schools in the US participate in the National School Lunch Program, which
affects what can be served, the source of many ingredients, and even the food
service budget. (See the box on page 4 to learn more about the program.)

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

3
Changes to the program under the 2012 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act mean that
participating schools must meet new, more rigorous nutrition guidelines. While
these are welcome changes, one challenge for food service directors is funding
a program that is less reliant on subsidized commodities and that requires
purchasing fresh ingredients. Another is finding foods that are both healthful and
loved by kids.

By empowering students to make suggestions for cafeteria lunches, this lesson

helps students make a real difference at their school. They may not be able to
effect big changes, but even small changes can increase student satisfaction and
reduce waste. At some schools, for example, students have suggested offering
culturally inspired dishes, a salad bar with fresh vegetables and fruits, sliced
apples instead of whole, more vegetarian or vegan options, or more local or
organic foods.

W H AT I S T H E N AT I O N A L S C H O O L L U N C H P R O G R A M ?

Most school cafeteria food in the US is tied to the National School Lunch
Program (NSLP). Many districts also participate in the School Breakfast
Program. Established in 1946, the federally assisted NSLP began as a way
to provide nourishment to low-income children and, at the same time, to
promote consumption of US agricultural products to boost food prices and
support farmers. Today, it provides lunches to over 31 million children in
95,000 schools every school day.

Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program get cash

reimbursements and donated commodities from the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) for each meal they serve. In turn, they must follow federal
nutrition guidelines, which are established by the USDA and approved by
Congress.

Children from low-income families are eligible for free or reduced-price

meals, depending on family income level. Other children at a participating
school may also purchase lunches. In most districts, the school nutrition
program must be both self-supporting and nonprofit.

The 2012 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act marked the first overhaul of the
program since the 1990s. New nutrition guidelines stipulate more fruits
and vegetables; require low- or nonfat milk and whole grains; and limit the
amounts of calories, salt, and trans fats contained in school meals.

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

4
M AT E R I A L S

• Copies of the Sample Lunch Survey for your class

• 3” x 14” strips of paper

• Copies of the class-designed survey, enough for the school

• Colored pens and poster paper, or presentation software

P R E PA R AT I O N

• If possible, work with the school district’s nutrition services director or his
or her representative, since the changes that can be made at the level of
the individual school are usually fairly minor. Before getting too far into
planning this lesson, it is important to know whether the director is inclined
to cooperate with you. Discuss the lesson with the director to get his or her
perspective on what would be a realistic goal. Emphasize that you want to
collaborate rather than criticize and that you hope that students can gather
information that will be helpful to the food service program. (See the box on
page 6 for suggestions on working with your food services director.) Invite
him or her to your class for an interview, explaining that the purpose will be to
help students understand the school lunch program so that they can focus on
workable solutions. If possible, provide the interview questions in advance (see
“Conducting the Lesson,” Part A, Step 3).

• Make copies of the Sample Lunch Survey to serve as an example. If possible,

have your students design their own survey.

• Make arrangements with other teachers for your students to distribute surveys
in their classes. Also, plan for students to present their findings to the food
services director or other appropriate audience.

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

5
 WO R K I N G W I T H YO U R F O O D S E RV I C E S D I R E C TO R

Your district’s food services director oversees the school lunch program, and
is there to resolve any problems or issues. This person often appreciates —
and may even encourage — student involvement to make the program as
strong as possible. Following are some suggestions for working with him or
her:

• Approach your food services director from the perspective that you have
the same goal: wholesome, well-balanced meals that students will enjoy
and eat.

• Acknowledge that planning school lunches is a complex process. Menus

have to satisfy federal and state guidelines, meet nutrition and health
goals, conform to the limitations of kitchen facilities, and stay within a
limited budget. Invite the director to explain some of the obstacles that
he or she encounters.

• Explain your goals for the lesson, and ask whether there is a particular
area of the food service program where student input would be most
helpful.

• Be sure that you and your students present any questions, concerns,
and suggestions in a respectful and positive way, being sensitive to the
constraints and pressures the food services director must face.

LESSON INTRODUCTION

Ask students to name some of the adjectives they or their friends might use to
describe the school’s cafeteria lunches, and list these on the board. Ask: Which
of the adjectives would you say are positive and which are negative? (Mark them
accordingly with a + or – sign.) Do you think it would be possible to offer a menu
that would elicit mostly positive adjectives? What could our class do to help
improve the food so that there are more positive and fewer negative adjectives?

Introduce the idea of doing a survey to find out what students’ peers think of
school meals and to get ideas for how to make the food tastier, healthier, or more
appealing; to improve the overall dining experience; and to encourage more
students to participate in the lunch program. Explain that they will first have a
chance to interview the food services director to learn about the lunch program.

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

6
CONDUCTING THE LESSON
PA R T A : I N T E R V I E W I N G T H E F O O D S E R V I C E S D I R E C T O R

1 A day or more before the interview, tell students that you have invited
the food services director to answer any questions about the school meal
program. Talk about this person’s job at the school, and discuss being
respectful before, during, and after the interview.

In order to design and conduct a good survey, ask students what they think
would be helpful to ask about the school lunch program. List their possible
interview questions on the board, and then as a class choose which to include.
(Alternatively, you may use some or all of the Sample Interview Questions in
the box on this page.)

2 Make copies of the questions to give to the food services director in advance,
and to help students take notes during the interview.

3 On the day of the interview, welcome and introduce the food services director.
Have students ask the planned questions, as well as any follow-up questions.

4 After the interview, lead the class in thanking the director for coming. Ask
students what they learned from the interview that will help their survey.
Discuss what the goal of the survey will be, pointing out that having a clear
focus will help guide the process.

SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS TO ASK FOOD SERVICES DIRECTOR

• How many lunches does the district serve each day?

• Who decides what is served for lunch?

• What factors do you consider when you plan meals?

• What new food items have you tried recently? Were they successful?

• How do you know what students do or don’t like to eat?

• Is there anything in particular you want to learn from students that we

might include in our survey?

• If we would like to recommend a change, what would be the process to do so?

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

7
PA R T B : D E S I G N I N G A N D C O N D U C T I N G T H E S U R V E Y

1 With the survey focus in mind, ask students what information or opinions they
want to learn from their fellow students about the school’s lunches. Begin a
class list of ideas on the board.

2 Give students copies of the questions they have generated, and read through
them together. Discuss whether the survey will provide the information the
class wants. Are there any questions that should be added or modified? Are
there any that should be dropped?

3 If a new survey (or a new survey question) is in order, divide the class into
teams of about four students and have them brainstorm possible questions.
Share the tips for designing an effective survey on this page to help them
narrow their lists down to the two or three best questions. Direct teams to
trade their questions with another team to test them out, and then revise as
necessary.

TIPS FOR DESIGNING AN EFFECTIVE SURVEY

• Define your goal. Decide what you want to find out, and keep the survey
focused on that goal.

• Keep it short. For each question, ask, “How will we use this information?”
If you won’t use it, throw out the question.

• Give the survey a short title.

• Include clear instructions on how to complete the survey.

• Use simple and direct language. Make questions as brief as you can.

• To keep it interesting, include a variety of question forms such as yes/no,

multiple choice, and open-ended questions.

4 Have teams write their final questions on strips of paper to share with the
class. Post the strips and discuss which questions to include and in what order.
Rearrange the strips to create a draft survey.

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

8
5 Have students test the draft survey by answering the questions themselves to
see whether any changes would make the survey better. Help students revise
the survey or individual questions as necessary.

6 Make copies of the final survey to use with other students in the school.
Depending on your arrangement with teachers, direct students to take copies
of the survey to different classes to complete.

7 After conducting the survey, help students compile and analyze the results.
For questions that have a rating scale (like numbers 4 and 5 on the Sample
Lunch Survey), they might tally and average the answers.

DISCUSSION AND WRAP-UP

Discuss the survey findings, asking such questions as:

• What different opinions did students express about the cafeteria’s food and
the dining experience?

• Did any of their responses surprise you? How?

• What were the most interesting suggestions for improving the school meal
program?

• Which suggestions seem most workable?

• Based on our survey, what recommendations could we make?

• Knowing what we do about the school lunch program, which

recommendations should we focus on?

• How do our results support these recommendations?

• What would be the best way to present these recommendations?

Help students plan a presentation that shows their findings and explains their
recommendations. They may use colored pens and poster board or presentation
software to produce the desired visuals.

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

9
Celebrate your successes. Whether or not their recommendations are adopted,
students have learned a lot about the lunch program and about how to effect
change at the school. They have also gained skills in conducting a survey,
formulating recommendations, and developing an effective presentation.

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

10
 SAMPLE LUNCH SURVEY

Wouldn’t it be great if the school cafeteria served food that you looked forward
to eating? Please fill out this survey and help us improve our school’s meal
program.

1 Where do you normally get lunch on school days? Mark all that apply.

a From the school cafeteria.

b I bring my lunch.

c I buy it off campus.

d I do not eat lunch.

e Other? Please describe: ___________________________________________

2 How often do you eat the cafeteria food? Mark one.

a About six or more times a month

b About two to five times a month

c About once a month

d Never

3 If you’ve eaten in the cafeteria at least one time this year, list three words
you would use to describe the food: _____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

4 In general, how would you rate the taste of the cafeteria food? Mark one.

4-Delicious 3-Pretty good 2-Okay 1-Terrible 0-I don’t eat it

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

11
5 In general, how healthy do you think the cafeteria food is? Mark one.

4-Very healthy 3-Pretty healthy 2-A little healthy 1-Not healthy 0-I don’t eat it

6 What is the best thing you’ve eaten in the cafeteria? _______________________

What did you like about it? _____________________________________________

7 What was your least favorite food item? __________________________________

What didn’t you like about it? ___________________________________________

8 If the cafeteria could change one or two things to make the food tastier,
healthier, or more interesting, what would you suggest? Be as specific as you
can: __________________________________________________________________

9 Does it seem to you that a lot of waste is being generated in the meal
program? _____________________________________________________________

What could be done to reduce that? ____________________________________

10 Do you feel you have enough time to eat your lunch? ______________________

If not, how much would make a difference for you? ________________________

11 In addition to the food itself, what changes (for instance in the lunchroom)
would improve the overall dining experience? _____________________________

12 Think about students you know who don’t regularly eat the school lunch.
What changes might make them more likely to participate?

________________________________________________________________

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

 
12
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY
The Center for Ecoliteracy is an internationally recognized leader in systems change
innovations in education for sustainable living. Since 1995, the Center has engaged
with thousands of educators from across the United States and six continents. The
Center offers publications, seminars, academic program audits, coaching for teaching
and learning, in-depth curriculum development, keynote presentations, and technical
assistance. Books authored or coauthored by the Center for Ecoliteracy include
Ecoliterate: How Educators Are Cultivating Emotional, Social, and Ecological Intelligence
(Jossey-Bass, 2012); Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability (Watershed Media,
2009); and Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World (Sierra
Club Books, 2005).

CREDITS
Authors Carolie Sly, Leslie Comnes

Editor Michael K. Stone

Designer Karen Brown

PHOTOS
Cover clipboard: istockphoto 3526052, DNY59 ; pencil and pencil shavings: istockphoto
13955872, photka; milk carton: Dan Benesch

SCHOOL LUNCH SURVEY CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY WWW.ECOLITERACY.ORG

13